Indian Airlines struggle
to beat CRPF

Y S Rawat's 60th minute goal gave Indian Airlines a 1-0 victory over Central Reserve Police Force, Delhi, in a Pool B quarter-final league match in the BPCL-100th Aga Khan hockey tournament at the Bombay Gymkhana, in Mumbai, on Monday.

In the another Pool B league match earlier, ONGC, Dehradun, managed to hold Bharat Petroleum, Mumbai, to a 1-1 draw. The match saw as many as two players from each side get yellow cards and one from each get the green.

After a barren first half, where the only action was a yellow card shown to CRPF forward Tanveer Jamal, the airmen struck through Rawat, who sounded the board off a Suresh Kumar cross. Kumar executed a pacy centre and Rawat trapped and sent a rasping drive, which went off goalkeeper Robindro Singh's pad.

Airlines goalkeeper Jagdish Ponnappa effected two good saves in at the fag end of the game, thwarting CRPF defender B Oron and Jamal.

With just two minutes to go for the hooter CRPF's Trilok Ram, who got a green card, missed from close.

Airlines's Girish was also shown the yellow card for rough play.

BPCL drew first blood in the 28th minute, when forward Amar Aiyamma scored off a Bipin Fernandes pass. The ONGC players protested, claiming Aiyamma had stopped the ball with his foot before scoring.

The game was disrupted for a couple of minutes before the ONGC players decided to carry on with the game.

However, Amarjeet equalised following a good move between Prem Kumar and Nadeem.

Of the top three teams, only BPCL is without a win from two league matches.

Photographs: JEWELLA MIRANDA